Perforator chad disposal attachment



Sept. 24, 1963 s. A. KIRKOWSKI 3,104,804

PERFORATOR CHAD DISPOSAL ATTACHMENT Filed July 12. 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 1INVENTOR. STAN A. K IR KOWSKI ATTORNEY Sept. 24, 1963 s. A. KIRKOWSKI3,104,804

PERFORATOR CHAD DISPOSAL ATTACl-iMENT Filed July 12, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet2' INVENTOR. STAN A. KIRKOWSKI ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,104,304-PERFQRATOR CHAD DISPOSAL ATTACHMENT Stan A. Kirkowski, Jersey City,N..l., assignor to The Western Union Teiegraph Company, New York, N.Y.,a corporation of New York Filed July 12, N61, Ser. N 123,563 8 Claims.(Cl. 234-131) The present invention relates to chad disposal apparatusand more particularly to a reperfo-rator chad disposal attachment for ateletypewriter or the like.

In certain fields of automatic transmission where teletypewriters orprinter reperforators, as they are generally called, are employed,perforations made in a roll of paper release electric impulses by meansof which corresponding perforations in another roll may be made at adistance, in as many places as are connected by an electric circuit. Thepaper tape is passed over an anvil or punch block and perforated bymeans of pins in response to the impulses or signals. The perforationsin the tape so achieved contain a code which in turn .is translated intoa message value. The segments of the tape punched out of the tape toform the perforations are called chads. The chads themselves are rathersmall in size but because of the large number of them perforated fromany given tape, the disposal of them presents a problem. The chads tendto get into the crannys and crevices of the machine and after a whilecan accumulate in sufficient volume to block moving parts. They alsopresent a dirt problem since they tend to fiy in the immediate area ofthe equipment and at times attach themselves to the clothes of theoperators. The chads, furthermore, pick up small charges of staticelectricity in the perforation process which causes them to attach witha certain tenacity, thereby becoming a further nuisance. A maintenanceproblem is therefore presented whenever the chads cannot be convenientlycollected in a suitable container for eventual disposal.

Heretofore, it has been attempted to meet the problem by the provisionof a tape chad chute which diverted the chads from the punch block andpermitted them to fall into a container which could be mountedunderneath the printer-reperforator or within the machine. However,because of the compact size of most teletypewriter equipment there isnot sufficient room for a chad container of any depth and generally onlya shallow container may be incorporated therein. In such shallowcontainers the chads accumulate under the exit of the chad chute,impeding the flow of chads from the chute, and causing the chute tofill, and they finally spill over through the top f the chad chute. Adeep container, while achieving better results, presents a space problemas hereinbefore mentioned. In addition to the chad disposal problem, acertain amount of fuzz accumulates on the tape as it is worked throughthe punch block. The fuzz is also an undesirable element which must beremoved to insure smoother operation of the machine.

The within invention contemplates a printer reperforator chad disposalattachment whereby the chads are completely isolated from the componentsof the machine except for the punching assembly, and these are divertedfrom the punch block and led into a collecting container which may be ofany size, and which may be disposed at any convenient position withinthe teletypewriter or immediately on the outside thereof. The inventionfurther contemplates providing a continuous air stream while the machineis in operation, which passes over the punch block and carries the chadsaway therefrom and into the container. At the same time, any fuzz whichhas collected is also blown along with the chads into the disposal unit.

3,l'@4,8@4 Patented Sept. 24, 1963 ice It is therefore one of theobjects of the present invention to provide chad disposal apparatuswherein the foregoing disadvantages are eliminated, and to do so in anovel and effective manner.

Another object of the invention is to provide a chad disposal attachmentfor a printer reperforator machine which will collect the chads in adisposal unit located outside of the machine, and which unit may be ofany size and shape.

Another object of the invention is to provide apparatus of theabove-indicated nature which will be simple and economical tomanufacture and maintain and yet positive and reliable in operation.

A further object of the invention is to provide a continuous gentle airstream passing over the punch block assembly of the machine which willremove the chads and the fuzz which accumulate thereon.

Still another object of the invention is to provide chad disposalapparatus which will be more applicable and utile for thoseinstallations containing shallow chad receptacles.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent hereinafter to thoseskilled in the art, by a consideration of the detailed description whichfollows, taken together with the accompanying drawings wherein oneembodiment of the invention is illustrated and described by way ofexample. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawingsare for the purpose of illustration only and are not to be construed asdefining or limiting the scope of the invention, reference being had forthat purpose =to the appended claims.

In the drawings wherein like reference characters indicate like parts:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a printer reperforator machine, partlycut away, showing the chad disposal attachment connected thereto;

FIG. 2 is an elevation view of the air stream providing means associatedwith the chad disposal attachment;

FIG. 3 is a front view of FIG. 2 showing the chad disposal attachmentconnected to the punching block assembly or perforating portion of theprinter reperforator; and

FIG. 4 is a section view taken along the line 44 of FIG. 3.

Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to FIG. 1, there isshown a teletypewriter or printer reerforator machine generallydesignated by the numeral 19 which includes certain components usuallyassociated with the machines of this character, such as a main sprocketwheel 12, driven by a timing belt 14, which in turn rotates a functionshaft 16 (FIG. 2). A punching assembly 18 and a plurality of punchingpins 22 perform the actual perforations of the tape thereby detachingthe chads therefrom.

Attaching means for the chad disposal unit are provided in the form ofan attachment hub 24 which is positioned within the sprocket 12 andattached thereto in any approved manner such as by screws 26. In thismanner, the attachment hub 24 rotates continuously in unison with thesprocket 12 whenever the machine is in operation. A piston 28 is securedin an eccentric manner to the hub 24 by means of a pin or similarattaching device 30 through one end of the piston. The opposite end ofthe piston culminates in a circular head 32. The head 32 is positionedwithin an air cylinder 34 of slightly larger diameter than the pistonhead and is adapted to receive the reciprocatory motion of the pistontherein as it is driven back and forth by the turning motion of the hub24. To narrow the clearance gap between the piston head and the innerwall of the cylinder 34, there is attached to the piston head a gasketmade of leather, or some other yielding material. However sulficientclearance is maintained to enable air to get past the piston head on thereturn stroke of the piston. The reciprocation of the piston within thecylinder will thus operate to pump a steady air stream out of thecylinder in the fashion of a conventional bicycle pump. An outlet tube36 is provided at the delivery end of the cylinder as egress means forthe air pumped therefrom. The cylinder 34 has protruding from the bottomthereof a spindle or shaft 38 adapted to slidingly enter a mating holeit? provided on a mounting block 42. The mounting block 42. is attachedto the printer reperforator by an attachment plate 44 and mountingscrews In order to secure proper vertical alignment of the air cylinder34 with respect to the sprocket 12, and to allow for such tolerances asmay exist in the printer reperforator 1G, a set screw 48 pro trudingthrough the mounting block 42 is adapted to engage the spindle 38 sothat the mounted height of t. e

air cylinder 3 may be set as desired with respect to the It will beapparent that the vertical move sprocket l2. ment of the cylinder 34provides an adjustment for arriving at the optimum setting which willresult in the greatest quantity of air being delivered by the cylinder,and that in like manner the quantity of air delivered may also beselectively diminished.

A connecting tube 56 connects the outlet tube 36 with a one-way checkvalve 52. The check valve 52 is of a conventionai type which permitsflow of air or fluid in one direction only, and includes a spring 54anchored against one end of the valve which continuously biases againsta plate 56 to close an aperture 58 which comprises the entrance to thecheck valve 52. Thus, air pumped into the valve, will operate tocompress the spring and free the aperture 58. However, when the airceases flowing through the valve, the spring will resile and push theplate 56 firmly against the aperture 58 thereby negating the possibilityof any back flow of air through the valve.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 3, there is shown a chad collecting tunnel60. The tunnel 6! comprises substantially a rectangular block (FIG. 4)hollowed to define in part a chamber 62 which opens above the punchingassembly 18. A pair of colinearly disposed nipples 64 and 66 provideentrance and egress of air respectively to and from the chamber. Aflexible conduit 68 connects the entrance nipple 64 with the check valve52 in a hermetically sealed fashion so that air passing through thevalve is led into the chad tunnel without any leakage. The chad tunnelitself is attached to a U-shaped mounting front plate '70 which, inturn, is attached to the punch block holder of the printer-reperforatormachine as by screws 72. The cross-leg 74- of the U-shaped front plate 7is attached to the chad tunnel 60 and forms the front wall of thechamber 62 to thereby complete the full enclosure of the chamber exceptfor the bottom face which opens over the punching assembly 18, andthrough which the chads may enter the chamber. It will now be observablethat the chamber 6?. is completely sealed off from the printerreperforator and from the surrounding atmosphere on all sides except onthe bottom.

The bottom side of the chad tunnel is positioned directly above a dieplate 78 and in the operation of the printer reperfonator a tape 76 ispassed between the die plate 78 and a guide plate 80'. At this point,the punching pins 22 in response to electric impulses are selectivelyraised through the guide plate St to punch the tape against the dieplate 78. In this punching operation, the chads are ejected through aseries of holes 82 (FIG. 4) directly above the punching pins 22 and whensaid holes are filled with chads, additional perforating of the tapecauses the chads to spill over into the chamber 62 of the chad tunnel.It will be noted that in this manner as the chads are forced into thetunnel, they are completely isolated from the printer reperforator andhave no means of egress other than through the outlet nipple 66.

The diameter of the punching pins is on the order of I tale-typewriter.

tape, and that in their cumulative volume they present a problem whichrequires adequate disposal means in order to avoid jamming or blockingthe moving parts of the in addition to the foregoing problem posed bythe number of chads separated from the tape by the punching assemblybecause of the rapid passage of the tape over the guide plate 80, acertain amount of fuzz accumulates about the guide plate. While not astroublesome as the chads, it is nevertheless desirable to remove thisfuzz from the machine along with the chads.

To accomplish the removal of fuzz and chads, the egress nipple 66 hasattached thereto a flexible hose 84. The hose 84 is secured hermeticallyto the egress nipple and may be of any length desired.

Having thus described the invention, it will now be apparent to thoseskilled in the art, that in operation when the printer-reperforator isoperating, the main sprocket 12 is revolved by the timing belt 14, whichis attached to the motor for the unit (not shown here). The sprocket 12is the main source of motive power for the various moving components ofthe printer-reperforator, or teletypewriter as the case may be. Becauseof the eccentric attachment of the piston 28 to the hub 24, the pistonwill reciprocate within the air cylinder 34. Hence a continuous amountof air will be pumped by the piston and cylinder, the volume of whichwill depend on the revolutions per minute of the sprocket. The air thuspumped is forcibly ejected from the cylinder through the tube 36 intothe one Way check valve 52 from whence it is led by means of flexibleconduit 68 through thechamber 62 of chad tunnel 60. The chads which haveaccumulated within the chad tunnel together with any fuzz which may haveadhered to the guide plate or to the top of the punch pins will be blownout of the chad tunnel through the egress nipple 66 and carried in asteady stream through the flexible tube 84. It will be noted that theentrance nipple s4 and the egress nipple 66 are preferably horizontallyand colinearly disposed, so that the airstream entering the chad tunneltill will be horizontally directed and may emerge therefrom withoutundergoing any deviation, or curving or dispersal, or change ofdirection. In this manner the full and unabated force of the airstreamis exerted solely in driving the chads and the fuzz out of the chadtunnel. The end of the flexible tube 84 may be placed in a disposalcontainer located at any convenient point outside of the machine, or ifdesired inside of the machine. If the disposal container is outside ofthe machine it may obviously be of any size desired. In the situationwhere a shallow chad disposal container of tray-like form is placed atthe bottom of the machine the end of the flexible tube 84 may be placedat any point thereof parallel with the bottom of the container so thatas the chads are ejected in a steady stream from the tube they willrepose in a more widespread and uniform pattern in the container.Thereby a build-up of chads at any one point is prevented. It is also tobe noted that in this manner the chads are effectively isolated from themachine and cannot find their way into the corners thereof nor are theyleft free to fly about the ambient vicinity of the machine.

Although one embodiment of the invention has been illustrated anddescribed, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art thatmodifications may be made, and changes in the relative arrangement ofthe parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. In combination with a printer reperforator wherein perforations madein a roll of paper release impulses by which corresponding perforationsin another roll of paper are made by a punching assembly to produce anaccumulation of paper chads and paper fuzz about said punching assembly,the improvement comprising, an air cylinder, a piston reciprocatingtherein by attachment to said printer reperforator to dischmge anairstream, a chad tunnel including a chamber attached to the printerreperforator, a substantially horizontally opposed inlet and outletnipple for said chamber, said inlet and outlet nipples beingsubstantially aligned with the axis of the chad tunnel, said chambercommunicating with the punching assembly to receive the chads and fuzztherefrom, hermetically sealed means discharging the airstreamhorizontally along the axis of the chad tunnel through said chamber, aone-way check valve in said means to prevent backfiow of the airstreaminto the air cylinder, and a conduit for leading the airstream and theaccumulated chads and fuzz from the chamber.

2. In combination with a printer reperforator having a main sprocketwheel turned by a belt and a motor, associated therewith, apparatus forchad disposal comprising, an attachment plate on the sprocket wheel, apiston eccentrically mounted on said attachment to reciprocate inconjunction with the turning of the sprocket wheel, an air cylinderencasing said piston adapted to discharge an air stream uponreciprocation of the piston, mounting means for the cylinder adjustablefor proper alignment with the sprocket wheel, a chad tunnel defining achamber adapted to receive the chads from the printer reperforator, asubstantially horizontally opposed inlet and outlet nipple on thechamber, substantially aligned with the horizontal axis of the chadtunnel, and means connecting the airstream to the inlet nipple to directa linear airstream across said chamber to the outlet nipple.

3. In combination with a printer reperforator wherein perforations in aroll of paper release impulses by which corresponding perforations inanother roll of paper are made by a punching assembly operable by theprinter perforator to produce an accumulation of paper chads and paperfuzz, apparatus comprising, an air cylinder, a piston reciprocabletherein operable in conjunction with the printer reperforator to producean air stream, a chad tunnel and a mounting plate to attach the tunnelto the printer reperforator, a chamber within said tunnel communicatingwith said punching assembly, an inlet nipple and an opposed egressnipple linearly disposed therewith to direct an airstream linearlyacross said chamber, a flexible conduit connecting the air cylinder tothe inlet nipple, a check valve in the conduit adapted to permit the airstream to flow toward the inlet nipple only, and a flexible conduitconnected to the egress nipple to allow the air stream to eject thechads and the fuzz accumulated in the chamber.

4. In combination with a printer reperforator wherein perforations in aroll of paper release impulses by which corresponding perforations inanother roll of paper are made by a punching assembly to produce anaccumulation of paper chads and paper fuzz, apparatus comprising, an aircylinder, a piston reciprocable therein and operable in conjunction withthe printer reperforator to produce an air stream, a chad tunneldefining a closed chamber opening above said punching assembly toconfine the chads and the fuzz to said chamber, a substantially hori- 6zontally opposed inlet nipple and egress nipple communicating with saidchamber, a hermetically sealed conduit connecting the air cylinder tothe inlet nipple to discharge the airstream linearly across the chamberfrom the inlet nipple to the outlet nipple, a check valve in the conduitadapted to permit the air stream to fiow to the inlet nipple only, and aflexible conduit connected to the egress nipple to permit the air streamto carry the chads and the fuzz out of the printer reperforator.

5. Automatic chad disposal means operable simultaneously with theoperation of a teletypewriter or the like, having a main sprocket wheelturnable therein to operate apunching assembly associated with theteletypewriter comprising, a mounting plate secured to the hub of saidsprocket wheel, a piston having one end eccentrically mounted on saidplate, an air cylinder, the opposite end of said piston beingreciprocable within the air cylinder, mounting means for the cylinderincluding a spindle vertically adjustable to align the cylinder andpiston with the sprocket wheel, a tunnel defining a chamber forreceiving the accumulation of chads from the teletypewriter, ahorizontally opposed inlet nipple and egress nipple communicating withsaid chamber, a mounting plate for attaching the tunnel to the punchingassembly, conduit means connecting the air cylinder to the inlet nippleto direct a substantially horizontally linear airstream across thechamber, and a conduit attached to the egress nipple to permit the airstream to drive the chads from the teletypewriter.

6. Chad removal apparatus for a teletypewriter comprising areciprocating pump with a discharge attached to the teletypewriter andcontinuously powered thereby whenever the teletypewriter is inoperation, a chad tunnel adapted to collect the chads from theteletypewriter, an inlet nipple on the chad tunnel, a conduit connectingsaid air pump to the inlet nipple to direct a linear airstream acrossthe chad tunnel substantially co-axial with said nipple, a check valvein said conduit to prevent backflow into the reciprocating pump, and aflexible conduit attached to the chad tunnel to provide removal of thechads from the tunnel.

7. Chad removal apparatus for a printer reperforator machine comprisingan air cylinder mounted in the machine, a piston adapted to reciprocatetherein actuated by said printer reperforator, a chad tunnel including achamber adapted to collect the chads punched by said printerreperforator, a substantially horizontally opposed inlet nipple andoutlet nipple on the chad tunnel communicating with said chamber, aconduit connecting the air cylinder to the inlet nipple to direct asubstantially linear airstream across the chad tunnel, and a conduitattached to the outlet nipple to remove the chads from the chamber.

8. The chad removal apparatus claimed in claim 7 wherein said pistonreciprocates continuously in the air cylinder whenever theteletypewriter is in operation.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,140,854

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No.3,104,804 September 24, 1963 Stan A. Kirkowski It is hereby certifiedthat error appears in the above numbered patent requiring correction andthat the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column 1, line 10, strike out "'reperforator"; line 11, strike out"teletypewriter" and insert instead perforator lines 12 and 13, strikeout teletypewriter" and insert instead perforators line 45, strike out"teletypewriter" and insert instead such line 65, strike out"teletypewriter" and insert instead machine column 2, line 46, strikeout "teletypewriter" and insert instead perforator column 4, line 12,strike out "teletypewriter" and insert instead machine line 30, strikeout "teletypewriter" and insert instead perforator column 6, lines ll,13, 21, and lines 28 and 29, for "teletypewriter", each occurrence, readperforator lines 30, 33, 34 and 35, strike out teletypewriter", eachoccurrence, and insert instead printer reperforator line 56, for"te1etypewriter read perforator Signed and sealed this 12th day of May1964.

(SEAL) Attest:

ERNEST W. SWIDER EDWARD J. BRENNER Attesting Officer Commissioner ofPatents

1. IN COMBINATION WITH A PRINTER REPERFORATOR WHEREIN PERFORATIONS MADEIN A ROLL OF PAPER RELEASE IMPULSES BY WHICH CORRESPONDING PERFORATIONSIN ANOTHER ROLL OF PAPER ARE MADE BY A PUNCHING ASSEMBLY TO PRODUCE ANACCUMULATION OF PAPER CHADS AND PAPER FUZZ ABOUT SAID PUNCHING ASSEMBLY,THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING, AN AIR CYLINDER, A PISTON RECIPROCATINGTHEREIN BY ATTACHMENT TO SAID PRINTER REPERFORATOR TO DISCHARGE ANAIRSTREAM, A CHAD TUNNEL INCLUDING A CHAMBER ATTACHED TO THE PRINTERREPERFORATOR, A SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTALLY OPPOSED INLET AND OUTLETNIPPLE FOR SAID CHAMBER, SAID INLET AND OUTLET NIPPLES BEINGSUBSTANTIALLY ALIGNED WITH THE AXIS OF THE CHAD TUNNEL, SAID CHAMBERCOMMUNICATING WITH THE PUNCHING ASSEMBLY TO RECEIVE THE CHADS AND FUZZTHEREFROM, HERMETICALLY SEALED MEANS DISCHARGING THE AIRSTREAMHORIZONTALLY ALONG THE AXIS OF THE CHAD TUNNEL THROUGH SAID CHAMBER, AONE-WAY CHECK VALVE IN SAID MEANS TO PREVENT BACKFLOW OF THE AIRSTREAMINTO THE AIR CYLINDER, AND A CONDUIT FOR LEADING THE AIRSTREAM AND THEACCUMULATED CHADS AND FUZZ FROM THE CHAMBER.